Dreams And Shadows Play
by The lunatic who cares
Summary: Post 07 MovieVerse. Optimus' message has made contact and 'bots are on their way but who will arrive and what chaos will it cause? Ch. 2 Argalis finds out where she stands
1. Hope And Hatred

Story Title: Dreams and Shadows Play

**Story Title:** Dreams and Shadows Play

**Chapter 1:** Hope and Hatred

**Notes:** This is my first Transformers attempt, so be nice to me. I have been doing my reading to try and get the terminology right. I do create my own characters but I needed another femme to get the right character in here. Don't worry, there will be plenty of old cast arriving in due time. I was just going to limit it to the first season but love some of the season 2 lot too much to leave them out.  
Feel free to point out errors, ask me questions, all sorts. I'll get back to you.

--

The pain searing across her back stilled her motions for a moment but only a fraction of time passed before she was moving again. She couldn't stay here and there was only just enough time to escape before her spark was crushed forever. The alarms were blaring in her audio sensors and time was being counted away.

"_I am Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here, we are waiting."_

"**And I'm coming.**"

--

"So where are you guys staying now?" Sam asked Bumblebee as they drove home from dropping Mikaela off.

"Your government gave us an abandoned aircraft hanger outside of town," Bumblebee replied, voice still not sounding a hundred percent. Ratchet had tried to work out more of the kinks but hadn't had much success. Bumblebee was just grateful to be able to talk again.

"Somewhere safe and big enough for you guys huh?" Sam ran his hands round the steering wheel as Bumblebee turned a corner.

"Yes Sam."

Bumblebee pulled up in Sam's drive and bid him goodnight before settling down to keep watch. Even with Megatron's destruction there were still Decepticons unaccounted for and Bumblebee wasn't risking retribution on Sam so he sat in the driveway every night and kept an eye on his human.

It was late in the night when Optimus called him back to their new base and Bumblebee sneaked away from Sam. The Camero's engine wasn't designed for a quiet getaway but Bumblebee had worked out just how many revs it took to get off the gravel without waking Sam. He'd only want to come with him.

One of the hanger doors was partially open, enough for Bumblebee to slip inside and then transform. He walked towards the small gathering of Autobots, the last to arrive.

"Good Bumblebee, you're here," Optimus nodded. "I wanted you all to be here when I replayed this message."

Optimus touched the side of his head and the crackle of static replayed around the empty hanger, before a disembodied, badly cracked voice spoke in Cybertronian.

'_**Optimus Prime… message…received… Arrival… bad entry predicted… soon… help…'**_

"That is all the message I could acquire," Optimus shook his head.

"Sounds like an Autobot heading our way," Ratchet replied. "And in bad shape."

"So someone heard your message then," Ironhide rumbled. "Then there are other survivors out there."

"Do we have anyway of predicting his trajectory for landing?" Bumblebee frowned. "I mean we should be there."

"We should be able to pick up his protoform before it hits Earth's atmosphere, but we'll have to roll out quickly to get there in time," Optimus explained. "I would expect him to aim towards our beacon, if he can."

The others all nodded, interested to see who else had survived. All had friends scattered across the stars or still in hiding on Cyberton itself, still fighting the remaining Decepticons. Optimus and Ironhide in particular had a hidden hope that their own sparkmates, Elita-One and Chromia, had heard the message.

"There's a chance that the pit-born scum Barricade heard that as well," Ironhide pointed out. "I'll go and see if I can blast a new hole in him, permanently!"

"Bumblebee, you go back to Sam," Optimus nodded at the yellow spy. "I will go up to the cliff where I broadcast the original message from and scan for the incoming proto-form."

Bumblebee and Ironhide left together, the black Kicktop accompanying Bumblebee as far as Sam's road before heading off to continue the search for one of the last remaining Decepticons on Earth. Bumblebee cut his engine and rolled back into place on the drive with only a slight crunch of gravel. Now they waited for their newest comrade to join them.

Bumblebee knew that when Optimus had sent out his message to the stars none of them had been sure there had been any other Autobots left. No-one else had been aboard the Ark when they had left it in hidden orbit in the large gas planet Saturn. It's rings of ice particles and rock debris provided excellent concealment and as soon as the humans stopped arguing then they could bring it down to Earth.

Elita-One and Chromia had to be online still, as Optimus and Ironhide were bonded to them, and the death of one led to the death of the partner, but if they were the only femmes left then the Autobots would be a race facing extinction. The likelihood of the message being from a femme would have been processed and dismissed from all CPU's.

Bumblebee wondered who would be coming to them, alone and badly damaged. There were some Autobots who would risk the long trip alone but many who would not or could not leave others behind. The Ark had been gone from Cyberton for many Earth years, so many things could have happened to those that they had left behind, but Bumblebee refused to believe they had lost more friends. Not with Starscream leading many of the more violent Decepticons after them on Nemesis.

Shockwave was the main problem. Whilst loyal to Megatron, he was cold and calculating and looking for his own chance to take over. He hadn't taken well to Starscream's assumed command when Megatron had disappeared after the AllSpark. With Starscream gone for so long on the Nemesis as well Bumblebee suspected that Shockwave was in charge on Cyberton. Starscream was going to have an interesting time arriving back on Cyberton alone, though Bumblebee suspected that he would try to play it to his advantage.

--

As it was it was more than an Earth week before they heard anything from their inbound traveller again and this time it was strong enough for all Autobots to hear. It made Bumblebee slam on the brakes as it came through on every frequency, including his radio. Sam and Mikaela were privy to the message as Bumblebee was in the process of driving them home after school. Cybertronian filled the car

'_**Warning approaching atmosphere… Crash imminent.'**_

"What was that?" Sam stared at the radio.

"Sounded like Bumblebee's native language," Mikaela looked at Sam with a worried expression.

"It's the incoming Autobot!" Bumblebee sounded excited as he spun his tyres, doing a 180 in the middle of the road, to head towards where the others were.

"Incoming Autobot?" Sam and Mikaela chorused.

Bumblebee hurriedly explained to his two passengers as he raced to join the others. At the same time he was deep in conversation with Ironhide who was giving him the location in the desert that they were heading to, having plotted the protoform's probable landing site.

They met up with the others just as the fiery protoform became visible to human eyes. Mikaela remembered the last ones they had seen and frowned at the sky. The angle was steep and the protoform was spinning on its vertical axis as it fell through the sky.

"Something's wrong," she whispered to Sam who stood beside her.

All the Autobots heard her and silently agreed. Ratchet was way ahead of most, calculating the speed of the protoform and how much damage it would suffer on landing. That depended partly on how badly damaged the Autobot already was, but it was clearly unable to control its descent.

They had got the predicted landing so right that when the fiery ball ploughed into the ground it knocked both Sam and Mikaela off their feet, whilst the Autobots had to compensate internally, it was so close.

Ratchet transformed and raced off towards the new arrival, faster in his Hummer form than he would be on foot. Bumblebee helped the humans to their feet before scooping both of them up. Considering the sandy conditions under foot then Bumblebee's alt form would struggle and walking was far more efficient. Ironhide followed close behind Ratchet, wary of their new arrival. Planning for surprises was something he did well. Optimus stayed with Bumblebee and walked with him to their new companion.

The landing crater was deep and when they arrived Ratchet was already down inside it, with Ironhide standing on the lip watching him. The protoform was roughly the same size as Bumblebee's, denoting the small size of the Autobot, who had yet to emerge. Ratchet was busy running scans and talking at the Autobot in Cybertronian, trying to understand why the fundamental change hadn't taken place. Emerging from the transition mode happened quickly so that a new appropriate form could be scanned and blending in could happen.

"_**Do you have a malfunction in your locks? Are you unable to transform?"**_ Ratchet was running his fingers over deep pits and gashes in the frame, sensors detecting both old and new damage. There was one particularly bad patch where the fire from entry had burned right down inside.

"_**In…ternal… damage.."**_

Ratchet nodded,

"_**I can access them better if you transform."**_

"_**Try…"**_

Ratchet stepped back as the transition mode initiated the sequence of transformation. Parts on the surface began moving, unfurling to form limbs, a head and torso, but over it all was a horrible screech as if parts were rubbing together that shouldn't have been. The grey form was complete and standing, even making it the few steps back out of the crater before it made a sound of pain and tipped over backwards. The thud was loud enough to make everyone present wince and the new Autobot cry out in pain.

Ratchet hurried over and began to patch up the worst damage he could reach but he noted the more extensive damage that he couldn't fix out here. The broken relays and energon lines down her back very serious and needed her unconscious to fix. She…

Ratchet stopped and really took a look at the Autobot's face. Whilst there wasn't much difference between mechs and femmes like this, there was subtle hints.

"Primus!" Ratchet swore.

"What is it?" Optimus asked, peering down at them from his great height.

"It's a femme," Ratchet replied, voice shocked.

"It's _what_?" Ironhide squatted down to stare at the 'bot.

He was echoed by Sam but everyone ignored him. The Autobots were too concerned about the fact that the new arrival _was_ a femme to worry about the fact that their existence had not even been mentioned to the humans. Optimus blinked and tried to process that tiny yet huge piece of information before kneeling down beside her prone form,

"What is your name? _**What is your name?"**_

There was a groan and movement as the femme onlined her blue optics and partially sat up, upper body braced by her arms on the sand. She blinked a few times as she focused on Optimus' face and then at the others, taking in the small biological beings next to the yellow mech before looking back at her leader. She accessed the data streams that allowed her to learn this new language the others were speaking.

"Optimus Prime," the femme bot said in a pained edge voice. "It's been… a long time."

"I'm sorry but I…"

"Don't remember me," she finished for him. "No don't worry… I'm not surprised. It wasn't my… face you saw."

With whirls and screeches of metal she turned the top half of her frame over and showed all the Autobots her back. It was a deep hole of twisted metal. Her protective plates had been buckled in, melted and twisted so they dug into her circuitry. Everyone could see how sharp edges on the metal that had worn groves into each other.

Optimus knew her name now.

"Argalis."

The rest of the Autobots started muttering amongst themselves and Sam and Mikaela glanced at each other. She turned over again, fingers digging into the sand in her pain and she nodded,

"So you do remember."

"I remember," Optimus replied.

"We all remember all too well!" Ironhide boomed, cannons coming online. "Traitor!"

"I am not a traitor," she denied. "I never told Megatron anything."

"Then explain how the Decepticons knew their way into the base that you worked at?" Ironhide leant right into her.

"I don't know!" she cried. "I had friends there! I lost so much when…"

"Enough," Optimus cut her off, pushing Ironhide back at the same time.

"What is going on?" Sam asked in the silence.

All the Autobots looked at him with varying degrees of expression. Sam glanced between them all. Bumblebee looked a little lost, Ratchet looked torn between helping and hurting, Ironhide still looked ready to blast a new hole in the femme and Optimus… Optimus Sam couldn't read. Surprisingly it was Argalis who answered,

"I'm somewhat of a legend. I was captured by the Decepticons and tortured for information. The base that I worked at was later completely destroyed. No 'bot survived. Everyone thought I had betrayed them to save myself."

Ironhide growled in warning and she looked up at him unfazed.

"Megatron did this himself, taking pride in inflicting as much damage as possible without off-lining me. I would not be still functioning if I had spoken of anything of value."

"I believe that," Optimus replied. "Ratchet repair Argalis as much as you can."

"She'll be better off back at the hanger," the medical officer looked up at Optimus, who nodded in return. He transformed and backed up to her protoform so Argalis could be loaded onto empty space behind his cab.

Ratchet gripped Argalis under her arms but looked at Bumblebee pointedly. The younger Autobot understood what Ratchet wanted. Argalis' spinal Energon line was cracked and her legs were more or less inactive. Bumblebee slung his arms under what was equivalent to knee joints and joined Ratchet in placing her onto the back of Optimus. She couldn't help but whimper in pain, though she clung to consciousness tenaciously, surprising Ratchet who roughly knew the extent of her injuries.

Due to her exposed form the small convoy was forced to take the longer, but more isolated, route back to their base. The road was unmade and Optimus could do little to cushion Argalis against the bumps. The big mech listened in helpless silence as each jolt made the femme stifle a cry. He had apologised at first, until he realised it wasn't helping and it was drawing more attention to her pain, so he just tried to focus his sensors on Ironhide ahead of him.

Ironhide had pulled ahead of him so he didn't catch any glimpses of Argalis and, perhaps, went a little faster over the rough ground than he should. Ratchet was nearly tailgating Optimus to keep a close monitor on Argalis, but was silent, deep in thought. Bumblebee, behind Ratchet, weaved around much more than the others, trying to avoid the potholes for his human passengers, and his own racing suspension's, sake.

The journey took longer than any of them would have liked but once they had reached the hanger and were secured within it Bumblebee helped Ratchet lay Argalis out on medical bed, situated in one corner of the room, turning her over so the major damage on her back was exposed. It revealed the ages old crater at which Ironhide took one look and was back out of the door again, angrily muttering about blowing something up. Ratchet took the opportunity to pull Optimus to one side and voice his own concerns.

"Repairing her all in one go will be difficult. I don't have the equipment, not until the Ark is brought down here."

"Do what you can," Optimus nodded. "But you don't need to give me excuses Ratchet. I know the difficulty you face with her. Make your own choices."

Ratchet watched Optimus stride across the hanger and head into the communication room, off to explain about their new arrival to the American goverment. The CMO often forgot how well the big mech could read underlying feelings and accept them without worrying about why. The medic glanced at the femme before chasing Bumblebee and Sam out of the hanger. Mikaela begged to stay to watch and Ratchet agreed, secretly pleased that the little human was taking some much of an interest, then explained to Argalis what he was going to do. Argalis passed out quickly enough when Ratchet injected the sedative into an exposed energon line.

Mikaela had held in her questions until Argalis was unconscious, guessing it would be somewhat rude to interrogate Ratchet about her when she could hear her. As Ratchet's hand transformed into the laser Mikaela remember from the alley and he began to change its settings, Mikaela stepped into the still murky world of transformers.

"Ratchet?" Mikaela peered at the CMO from her position next Argalis' head on the bed.

"Hmmm?" Ratchet responded absently.

"What's a femme?" Mikaela thought, what the hell let's jump in the deep end. "I mean I guessed it's a female Autobot and all, but why the big deal about her?"

Ratchet froze, unsure just how much he should tell Mikaela. They had discussed femmes briefly, if only to say not to mention them to the humans until one arrived…. if one did arrive. Now there was one Ratchet wasn't quite sure how much information to give away. He looked down at the little organic life-form taking so much interest in him and his work, in all of them, and realised Mikaela was a friend. She would not going running off and spill their secrets to anyone, well except Sam, but Ratchet understood the need to talk between couples and anyway, Bumblebee was likely to be explaining femmes to Sam right at this moment.

"There are not many femmes left," Ratchet stated, getting back to work, having recalibrated the laser to cut rather than heal. "She could be one of only three online."

"Wow, that's a bit bleak," Mikaela muttered before standing on tip-toe to see what Ratchet was up to. "Do you think she'll mind if I climb on her?"

Ratchet shrugged,

"She won't know."

Mikaela started up Argalis' shoulder, the joining tissue between the metal providing good handholds and hauled herself up onto the large expanse of back. It much easier to see Ratchet work on the internal structure from here but Mikaela moved around to the other side of Argalis from Ratchet as not to get in his way.

"So femmes are… precious then. If that's the case, I would have thought you guys would be all accepting of her."

"We don't know what happened with her," Ratchet cut out a loose wire and replaced it with another. "Trust isn't something you just get for being an Autobot."

"I thought you guys were the good guys," Mikaela commented. "Forgive and forget, y'know?"

"I do not think you understand the magnitude of her betrayal," Ratchet narrowed his optics at Mikaela.

Mikaela got the hint and rapidly backed away from the topic to something Ratchet would discuss; his work. She sat down next to the crater in Argalis' back, careful not to get too close, as she would easily fit into it if she fell in. Curiously she watched Ratchet clamped off what looked like tubes of fluid and then removed a broken section from between them.

"What's that?"

"An energon line," Ratchet replied. "The best comparison to your body would be an artery. This one supplies energon to her right shoulder joint from her pump."

"Is there a time limit on how long you can keep it closed off like that?" Mikaela thought back to medical programmes on tv.

"Yes, though in comparison to humans I have a longer time span," Ratchet began removing another broken line from further inside. This one spurted energon at him, splashing his arm, but Ratchet took little notice, automatically dealing with the rupture. As he worked through the damaged wires and lines he noticed a damaged convertor when it zapped his fingers.

"Ow," Ratchet muttered.

"What?" Mikaela frowned as she peered into the hole.

"There's a shorting convertor in there. Don't get too close," Ratchet worked around it, disconnecting it from its power source.

"What does a convertor do?" Mikaela asked, studying it as it came out of Argalis' back.

Ratchet held it out to her now it was safe. The cylinder fit neatly in the palm of his hand with slots in either end for the disconnected wires and one side burnt black.

"This changes a supply of energy into an electrical current," Ratchet put it down next to Mikaela for her to examine, noting it was nearly as big as her torso, as he crossed to another bench to find a suitable replacement. Mikaela poked at the device for awhile before her attention was drawn back to Ratchet. The time passed far too quickly for her liking and Ratchet was soon putting her down on the floor, instructing her to leave so his patient could get some rest.

Mikaela headed out across the floor, going to find Sam and Bumblebee, who, as it turned out, were waiting for her right outside the hanger doors. Bumblebee was sitting on the ground, back propped up against the building and Sam was perched on one of his feet facing him. Mikaela joined him on Bumblebee's other foot and they all began swapping more answers and questions about their new arrival.


	2. What's Your Expectation?

**Chapter 2:** What's Your Expectation?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, cept Argalis.

**Notes: **Sorry it's taken so long, been busy moving back from Uni, puppy training and dealing with some truly shit problems with (now ex) friends. Hope you guys like and thanks to those of you that have reviewed and are watching this fic.

Bumblebee had taken Sam and Mikaela home when it became apparent that Ratchet wasn't coming out any time soon and neither of the other mechs were putting in an appearance. He promised to fill them in as soon as he knew anything else. Internally he was itching to ask numerous questions but the one mech he wouldn't have been wary of asking was dead. Optimus was, in all honesty, his hero and the spy never felt right asking questions of him. Ironhide was right out of the picture. Bumblebee wasn't stupid enough to pester him. Get his head blown off for that. Ratchet was the best option and even then, Bumblebee was never sure how to deal with the mech who had earned the nickname 'The Hatchet'.

He poked his head through the open door and peered down the hanger to the medic's end. Bumblebee could make out the shape of Ratchet and the figure of the femme stretched out on the berth, so he headed down the length of the hanger, feet still making enough noise to alert the whole area where he was and he was the quietest of all the Autobots!

When he got to the berth Bumblebee glanced at the recharging femme and then at Ratchet who was cleaning energon off his arms plates. There was still work to be done on Argalis but Ratchet looked like he was finished, packing up and walking away.

"…Ratchet…"

The CMO glanced over his shoulder at Bumblebee.

"What about her back?"

Ratchet turned away again,

"All the damage done from the crashing landing is repaired. She can walk again, do everything she could before. I don't have the equipment to do the rest."

Bumblebee frowned,

"What am I missing?"

Ratchet downed his tools and turned to Bumblebee, arms folding over his chest, headlights moving up to allow him to do that.

"I do not repair traitors. Optimus gave me an order, 'repair her as much as you can' and I followed it. She managed before with the damage. She can just fragging well manage now!"

Bumblebee stared at Ratchet in surprise. The mech was know for his compassion towards the injured and it must be hard to leave his work half finished. Bumblebee had not been privy to all the information about the destruction of Mechelen and had only heard the rumours. Considering the number of rumours flying around during the war Bumblebee hadn't believed an Autobot would turn on their own. Now he wasn't too sure.

He had felt a kinship with her. She had been tortured by Megatron and so had he. The yellow mech hadn't revealed the location of the Allspark to the Decepticon leader and hoped Argalis had done the same about Mechelen. Bumblebee had hated been unable to talk and when he had lost his legs in Mission City he had felt weak, dependant again. Argalis would feel the same.

Unsure how to raise his feelings with Ratchet, Bumblebee pondered who to talk to now. Ironhide was still out of the question. The black mech had warned them to keep Argalis away from him before he had gone stomping off into the desert. Optimus had believed her when she said she had not spoken of anything of value to the Decepticons. Maybe Optimus would make things a little clearer to him.

Bumblebee shuffled backwards across the concrete,

"Ok then I'll just be going then."

Ratchet grunted, turning back to his tools,

"Going to pester Optimus then youngling?"

The yellow mech winced at the word youngling. He had hoped all he had done in the war and since, finding Sam and keeping him safe when he'd been alone would have granted him the right to leave that title behind him. Apparently not.

"I don't pester!"

Ratchet smiled as Bumblebee stomped out of the hanger and listened to him transform, roaring off up the road in the direction Optimus had taken. Bumblebee, in truth, wasn't a youngling anymore and hadn't been for some time, but not many young mechs had survived long in the war. Bumblebee was, by far, the youngest of the group and it was a habit that was too tempting to break.

The medic finished cleaning his tools and returned them to their homes before heading into his office. The room was annexed to the main building, right next to the medical area so Ratchet could keep an eye on patients. It also held his recharge berth and it was that he was intending on getting to very soon.

--

"Optimus? Sir?" Bumblebee pulled up on the clifftop where Optimus had broadcast his message from. The Autobot leader had spent a lot of time up here, waiting and watching. He turned to face Bumblebee and gestured him over to sit with him.

"What is it Bumblebee?"

Bumblee sat but hesitated,

"… What happened at Mechelen?"

Optimus regarded him steadily for a moment before staring back out over the valley.

"Most only heard what they wanted to hear. By that stage in the war most Autobots were desperate for the fighting to be over and when we suffered yet another loss, then there had to be someone to blame."

"The Decepticons weren't enough," Bumblebee guessed.

Optimus nodded,

"When Megatron contacted me, telling me he had a prisoner that he wanted me to see, I didn't want to believe the connection but when I saw who I now know to be Argalis, doubts filled me. Word got out."

Bumblebee touched Optimus' hand in a gesture of belief,

"Everyone else would have thought the same thing."

"I should not have let the rumours spread like they did. I should of trusted Argalis not to break…"

"You can't doubt yourself like this," Bumblebee felt unsure why Optimus was speaking like this but knew he had to reassure him. "No 'bot could say they would survive at Megatron's hands."

Optimus curled his hands into fists but otherwise remained still. Bumblebee wondered what was going through his CPU. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to fight your family like Optimus had done and still remain so compassionate. Bumblebee swung his legs backwards and forwards over the ledge where they hung, thinking. Silence hung on the evening air.

"You don't think she betrayed us do you?" Bumblebee asked at last.

Optimus shook his head,

"No. I believe she didn't, but how did Mechelen fall if she didn't? It's not something anyone can answered and it will always cast a shadow over the truth."

Bumblebee frowned,

"I want to believe her."

"Then do," Optimus looked at the younger Autobot at his side. "Let your feelings guide you."

Bumblebee nodded, understanding that Optimus wanted someone to be Argalis' friend, but couldn't do it himself. It would cause tension between Optimus and the other two and that was something the blue and red mech couldn't afford. If the humans caught them disagreeing over the new arrival it could put them in a difficult position.

"What did you tell the American government?"

"I simply explained we had a new arrival but they were in bad shape," Optimus shrugged one big shoulder. "I did not mention gender. If they presume the new arrival is a mech then I will not dissuade them otherwise. If they have indeed tried to comprehend we have a gender."

"They're going to find out sooner or later though," Bumblebee kicked his feet again. "I mean what if Elita-One and Chromia arrive?"

Optimus stilled. The name of his bonded sent a spark of painful longing through him. It had been so long since he had heard from her, even felt the most tenuous of connection through their bond and the old yearning to have her near flared back up. His duties as leader meant he kept his feelings buried until he was alone but Bumblebee had unintentionally dragged them back to the surface. If Bumblebee could have kicked himself without Optimus seeing he would have. It was stupid to mention Elita. He should have known not to.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"It's ok 'Bee," Optimus laid a hand on the yellow mech's shoulder. "It shouldn't hurt to think of someone you love."

Bumblebee nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. The two mechs let a hush descend between them. The smaller transformer watched the setting sun dapple the greens and browns around them, gradually changing their colours with the failing light. The flame patterned blue mech cast his optics skyward to watch the sky darken. He would wait patiently for a reply to his message.

Optimus heaved a sigh through his vents. Patiently maybe, but for all his outwardly calm persistence the mention of his bonded name had tinged it with longing, hope and desperation.

'Elita. Come back to me soon.'

--

It was truly night before Bumblebee moved. He couldn't persuade Optimus to come down from the clifftop but the big mech had assured his young companion that he would be down in due time, even if it was only to drag Ironhide back from sulking in the desert. Bumblebee transformed and drove back to base, perhaps more slowly than normal. He was still deep in thought when he arrived and was really not sure how he was going to go about introducing himself to Argalis, let alone talking to her and hesitated just inside the hanger doorway.

Argalis came back online from recharge, feeling much better, but when she flexed one arm the old familiar pain shot through her sensors. It didn't surprise her. It would have been more of a shock to her system not to be in pain for two reasons. One she had grown so accustomed to being in pain that she struggled to recall memories without them and two, the other Autobots hated her. She wore her scars as a constant reminder. To expect Ratchet to repair her completely would be too far fetched.

Argalis pushed herself slowly to all fours. At least Ratchet had the decency to leave her face down. Getting upright from her back was much more painful. Sitting back on her haunches Argalis swung her legs off the repair bed and made it to her feet.

"How are you?" a rough voice asked.

Argalis looked up across the hanger to see the yellow mech walking towards her. She managed to connect him to the name Bumblebee she had heard in passing amongst the others and had heard the story of Tyger Pax. Ratchet's name she had heard from the others and knew of him, or rather his infamous temper. She didn't need telling who Optimus or Ironhide were, their reputations preceded them.

"Better. Ratchet does good work," Argalis flexed one hand that had been damaged in her landing.

"But your back…" Bumblebee didn't finish but she understood.

"I've lived with it for so long. It's fine."

"It's not!" Bumblebee exclaimed, voice sounding even more strained. "You shouldn't have to live with damage like that."

"You believe me," Argalis sounded stunned.

"Why shouldn't I?" Bumblebee asked, puzzled.

Argalis looked down at her hands,

"Because it has to be my fault."

"I don't understand. You didn't say anything."

He waited for confirmation, which Argalis gave.

"Then how can you be blamed?"

"How else did Mechelen fall if it wasn't me?" Argalis said bluntly.

"There could have been someone else, a spy," Bumblebee shrugged. "There were no survivors but was everyone accounted for?"

"I don't know," Argalis turned away. "Please don't talk about it."

Bumblebee crossed the concrete floor to her side and waited patiently for her to look at him, which nearly a breem later she did. The yellow mech studied her face, the blue optics meeting his own and felt a pang of loss, which must have shown.

"What is it?" Argalis asked.

"You just remind me of Jazz," Bumblebee explained. "There aren't many Autobots who are smaller than I am. I'm more use to looking up than down."

Argalis blinked, not expecting such a turn in the conversation,

"I never met him. What was he like?"

"Jazz was… Jazz," Bumblebee struggled, remembering his friend. "He was loyal, brave and he loved coming to new worlds and he always insisted on doing things in style." Bumblebee smiled suddenly. "He deliberately picked a flashy sports car to scan, the best in the showroom he said."

Argalis drifted with Bumblebee to the seating area in one corner of the hanger. He sat down, almost absent-mindedly, still deep in thought over his lost comrade.

"When I heard Ratchet call fall back, in the battle in Mission City, when Megatron arrived, Jazz didn't. He stayed right where he was to let everyone get away."

"That was brave," Argalis murmured, knowing she could never face that fear. "Very brave."

"He opened fire on Megatron," Bumblebee shook his head. "I wish he hadn't. I miss him."

"I wish he hadn't too," Argalis replied.

"Why?" Bumblebee frowned at her.

"Because he sounds like he was an excellent mech to have around."

Bumblebee nodded, still deep in thought and morose. Even though she wanted to hear what had happened before her arrival Argalis didn't want him sad so thought of something else to talk about and her CPU conquered up the image of the small biological beings, but just as she was about to open her mouth to talk a roar of an engine drew up outside.

Bumblebee winced,

"Ironhide's still in a flunk then."

"Should I…?" Argalis gestured back to the medical bay.

"No you have as much right as he does to sit here," Bumblebee shook his head.

The sound of transformation made the two quieten and watch as the bulky black mech stomped into the hanger. He instantly saw Argalis on the couch and stormed over to tower over her. She looked up at him, appearing unfazed but in truth was uncomfortable with the accusing look he was sending her way.

"Ironhide…" Bumblebee began but was cut off.

"I'm just going to tell you straight up," Ironhide growled. "I don't like you. I don't trust you. I think traitors like you should be taken out, shot and left to rust but Optimus says I can't do that." He leant right down into her face. "So stay away from me or frag the consequences."

The weapons specialist didn't wait for a response before he tramped across the hanger and disappeared into his room. Argalis sighed,

"Too much to hope everyone would like me huh?"

Bumblebee scowled,

"Ignore him. He's not happy unless he's blowing something up. What were we talking about?"

Argalis willingly let him change the subject as she remembered her question,

"Who were the… humans with you?"

Bumblebee glanced at her, surprised at how quickly she found something to ask him,

"Oh they were Sam and Mikaela. Sam is the human that had possession of the glasses that told us the location of the AllSpark and Mikaela is now his girlfriend. They were a great help to us. Sam nearly lost his life trying to keep the AllSpark from Megatron and Mikaela gave me the means to fight again when I lost my legs."

Argalis nodded, information coming to her over the World Wide Web about the new words Bumblebee was using and the location of Mission City. She thought a minute before asking,

"How much time do you spend with them?"

"Quite a bit," Bumblebee smiled. "I spend more time with Sam as I am still in disguise as 'his car', but I would choose to do that anyway."

"Are they around here much?"

"Yeah, more at the weekends than any other time, but at the moment they are taking some sort of series of tests to tell them what future roles they can perform and are very busy," Bumblebee shrugged.

"That sounds a very odd thing to do," Argalis frowned.

"Sam said much the same thing."

"Don't they know already? Isn't it programmed into them?"

Bumblebee chuckled,

"Humans aren't like us. There's no underlying coding that helps them make such an obvious choice, though this thing called genes is supposed to have an influence."

Argalis paused as she accessed the internet again and came away even more confused,

"Outer plating for their lower halves does that?"

Bumblebee laughed, wings twitching in amusement, before he managed to calm himself enough to explain the difference. Argalis realised her mistake but took it in embarrassed good humour and soon the two were talking about the Earth, conversing like they were merely friends catching up rather than new acquaintances.

Ratchet had been woken by the talking and had been intending to bellow for quiet when he stuck his head around his door, but the sight of the yellow mech performing some sort strange dance with his hands for the protoform grey femme had him smiling instead. The medic listened to Argalis laugh softly before ducking back into his room. He could cope with a little happiness disturbing his recharge.

--

Some 12,000 miles away, at the edge of a vast desert the sand parted to reveal a multi-optic head that surveyed the land. It swung this way and that as it listened for communications and calculated the distance it still had left to travel. Scorponok was conserving what little energy he had left. Those humans had damaged him badly and the Decepticon was steering well clear of all military bases but he needed to make his rendezvous. Earth was not safe for Decepticons at the moment and safety required numbers as well as a reliable energy source to heal his injuries.


End file.
